A weather report for a Himalayan town mentions wind direction reversal every evening, affecting local farming. Which atmospheric phenomenon is primarily responsible for this reversal?
Daily cycle of valley and mountain breezes
In mountain regions, slopes heat up quickly during the day, warming the air above them. This warm air rises and air flows up the slope from the valley — the valley breeze.
After sunset, the slopes cool rapidly by radiation; the cold, dense air then drains down the slope into the valley — the mountain breeze.
This day-night heating and cooling reverses the wind direction every evening, which is a local, daily phenomenon. Global wind belts and monsoon winds change over seasons, not every evening, and a constant high-pressure flow would not reverse.
Hence, the answer is Daily cycle of valley and mountain breezes.
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